California

California's energy officials opened an investigation on Monday into the Trump Administration's agreement with an offshore wind company?to cancel a planned project?off its central coast. The state is seeking information on the $120 million government payment to determine if it violates the law. The recent strategy of President Donald Trump to undermine the nation's young offshore wind industry includes refunding offshore lease payments in exchange for fossil fuel investments. California Energy Commission has issued a subpoena to Golden State Wind LLC. This is a joint venture between Ocean Winds and London-based offshore investment firm Reventus Power. Ocean Winds is a...

Greg Abel, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, welcomed on Saturday a recent court ruling that could limit liability at its PacifiCorp Utility business. The company is defending against lawsuits related to wildfires in Oregon and northern California. Abel, speaking at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting in Omaha Nebraska, said that the Oregon state court decision on April 8, stating that a major wildfire case cannot proceed as a mass action, relieves PacifiCorp of pressure as it attempts to convince regulators to allow it to charge enough for power. He said that the threat had been reduced. PacifiCorp is defending itself against...

The parent company of Southern California Edison, which is based in Los Angeles, won the dismissal of a lawsuit that alleged 'it defrauded shareholders prior to wildfires in the Los Angeles area on January 2025 by claiming it had reduced the risk of loss from such catastrophes. Edison International was accused by shareholders of being "structurally incapable" to deal with extreme weather and implement the Public Safety Power Shutoff Program, which is a last resort measure to shut down powerlines when fire risk becomes too high. Shareholders also claimed Edison "falsely" promised that the program along with hardening electricity lines...

Southern California Edison's parent company won the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that it defrauded its shareholders before?the wildfires in January 2025, by claiming to have significantly reduced losses due to such disasters. Edison International was accused by shareholders of being "structurally incapable" to deal with extreme weather and implement the Public Safety Power Shutoff Program, which is a last resort measure?to safely shut down powerlines when fire risks become too high. Shareholders also claimed that Edison falsely stated the program could, along with hardening of power lines and trimming vegetation reduce?wildfire risks by up to 90%. Edison's stock price...

Pacific Gas and Electric's parent company has reached a settlement of $100 million with shareholders who claimed that the utility operator misled them regarding its wildfire prevention?and safety protocol before wildfires occurred in northern California during 2017 and 2018. The preliminary settlement between PG&E and the U.S. District Court of San Jose in California was filed on Saturday. It requires a judge's approval. Shareholders, led by the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico said PG&E concealed their defective wildfire safety techniques. This included electrical equipment and vegetation management that was blamed for the start or exacerbation of the 2017...

Pacific Gas and Electric's parent company reached a settlement of $100 million with?shareholders that accused the utility operator?of misleading them about their wildfire prevention?and?safety protocol?before wildfires occurred in northern California during 2017 and 2018. The preliminary settlement between PG&E and the U.S. District Court of San?Jose in California was filed Saturday. It requires a judge to approve it. Shareholders, led by the 'Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico', said PG&E hid its defective wildfire-safety practices. This included electrical equipment and vegetation control that was blamed for causing or exacerbating 2017 North Bay fires and the 2018?Camp Fire. The North...

Hawaiian Electric Industries has reached a settlement of $47.75million with shareholders who accused it of misleading them regarding its wildfire prevention and safety protocols before the 2023 Hawaii wildfires. A preliminary settlement has been filed with the U.S. District Court of San Francisco on Monday, which requires approval by a judge. Shareholders claimed that Hawaiian Electric had falsely claimed to be taking the appropriate actions?to prevent the possibility of its utility poles causing a wildfire, particularly in western Maui. The spread of dry haystacks?created "highly flammable stacks" all around an populated area. Court documents show that Hawaiian Electric denied wrongdoing...

Southern California Edison announced on Wednesday that it will pay out several million dollars to each family who has lost a loved one in the January wildfires which scorched 14,000 acres of Greater Los Angeles and destroyed thousands homes and businesses. Edison International owns the utility. It said that eligible individuals and business can submit claims for payments and resolutions related to loss of property and life caused by the Eaton Fire. This is done through its Wildlife Recovery Compensation program. In January 2025 the Eaton Fire ravaged southern California, killing 19 and destroying over 9,400 single-family houses and other...

Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed legislation to boost the wildfire fund of the state with an extra $18 billion. The plan is well-known by sources. Could not verify immediately the report. California lawmakers created the California Wildfire Fund in 2019, which is managed by the California Earthquake Authority. This fund, which has a $21 billion budget, will provide more immediate and substantial compensation to victims of certain utility-caused fires, while protecting the power companies from large claims. The report stated that electricity ratepayers will contribute half of the money via a monthly charge,...

PG&E's, California's biggest electric utility, saw a 40% increase in the number of requests from developers of data centers across the northern part the state for power supplies this year, a company executive said on Tuesday. California's Silicon Valley has one of the oldest and largest data center markets in the world. However, analysts say that the high cost of electricity and the price of land will prevent the state from capitalizing on the surge of artificial intelligence data centers currently being built across the nation. PG&E said, however, that it sees signs that the state has still room to...

Southern California Edison, a division of Edison International, announced on Friday that it had submitted to California's Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety a Wildfire Mitigation Plan for a period of three years. SCE stated that the plan is a continuation of efforts to address both immediate and long-term risks from wildfires in response to changing customer needs and extreme weather conditions. The company anticipates investing $6.2 billion in three years, from 2026-2028. This includes the installation of at least 440 additional circuit miles covered conductor as well as nearly 260 circuit mile of underground distribution lines. Brian Fennessy, fire chief...

Vistra Corp reported a loss for the first quarter of the year on Wednesday. The independent power producer suffered from setbacks with its hedging and increased costs. Its shares fell nearly 6% at the opening of trading. The company stated that the quarter's deficit was mainly due to unrealized losses on derivative positions, as energy prices rose in advance periods. The utility was impacted by the continued high interest rates for a longer period of time, as this made the cost to invest in critical infrastructure like electrical grids and construction more expensive. Vistra's interest expenses rose by nearly 88%,...

The incident commander reported on Saturday that firefighters trying to prevent a chemical explosion in Southern California discovered overnight that the tank, which was failing, was "heating up" internally despite attempts to cool it. The evacuation orders were still in effect for a?area that covered tens and thousands of residents in the Garden Grove suburb in Los Angeles. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County, and his office asked residents to evacuate. Craig Covey said that crews returned to the danger zone overnight in Garden Grove after drone readings suggested on Friday that water sprayed...

Exxon Mobil filed a lawsuit against California on Friday challenging two state laws requiring large companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emission and climate-related risks. Exxon filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of California arguing that Senate Bills 261 and 253 violated its First Amendment rights because they force Exxon "to serve as a mouthpiece" for ideas it does not agree with. The company asked the court to stop the state of California enforcing these laws. Exxon claims that the Californian frameworks for reporting climate change are misleading and counterproductive. The oil giant claims...

California Coastal Commission voted against SpaceX's plan to double the number Falcon 9 rocket launches that the company can conduct from Vandenberg Space Force Base each year, from 50 up to 95. As was the case last October when the commission voted to oppose an expansion of SpaceX launches from 36 to fifty at the installation. The U.S. Government can simply override California regulators' objections and approve this latest plan. The U.S. Department of the Air Force (parent agency of the Space Force) has stated that the proposed expansion of the launch site at Vandenberg is an activity of the...

Three sources familiar with this matter have confirmed that California officials are looking for a buyer to take over the Benicia refinery of Valero Energy, located near San Francisco. This is an unusual move, as the company plans to close the facility by April. California's 28 million drivers, who already pay some of the highest gasoline prices in the nation, are now concerned about protecting the fuel supply in their state. California's efforts to prevent the refinery from shutting down also mark a shift in government policy from recent years, which has focused on championing green initiatives and limiting fossil...

The U.S House of Representatives has voted to block California's historic plan to stop the sale of only gasoline vehicles by 2035, which was adopted by 11 states. The House has backed legislation that will repeal the waiver granted by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under the former president Joe Biden, in December. This waiver allowed California to mandate 80% electric cars by 2035. Major automakers urged this action because the rules were not feasible. California claims the rules are necessary to reduce pollution, and that the vote was illegal. California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that the program is crucial to...

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared to be sympathetic to fuel producers' bid to challenge California's vehicle emission standards and electric cars in an air pollution case under federal law. This is a case that involves the Democratic-governed State's ability to combat greenhouse gases. The Justices heard arguments from a Valero Energy sub-division and groups representing the fuel industry in their appeal of a lower courts ruling that they did not have the legal standing required to challenge the 2022 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to allow California to set its own rules, separate from the federal government. Both conservative and...

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote next week on the Republican plan to repeal Biden's approval of California’s landmark plan that would end the sale of only gasoline vehicles by 2035. The office of House Majority leader Steve Scalise said that on Wednesday, lawmakers would vote to repeal the waiver given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December to California allowing it to mandate at minimum 80% electric cars by 2035. These rules have also been adopted by 11 other states. The question remains as to whether Congress has the power to revoke the waiver under the Congressional...

The executive order issued by U.S. president Donald Trump on Tuesday aims to prevent the enforcement of laws that have been passed in states to reduce fossil fuel use and combat climate changes. This is just the latest effort by Trump's Administration to boost domestic energy production and fight back against policies largely led by Democrats to curb carbon emission. The move came only hours after Trump, the Republican, had issued orders to increase coal output. The order directs the U.S. Attorney general to identify state legislation that addresses climate change, ESG Initiatives, environmental justice, and carbon emissions and take...

A U.S. Judge said that several companies, including Walmart, Beech-Nut, and Gerber, must face a national lawsuit alleging that toxic heavy metals were contaminated in their baby food and caused brain and neurodevelopmental damages to the children who ate them. In a ruling on Wednesday, U.S. district judge Jacqueline Scott Corley stated that parents could try to prove defective manufacturing, negligence, and failure to warn their children about over 600 baby food products, caused them to suffer from autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. Parents claimed that some defendants did not adhere to their internal limits on how...

First, there were the rapid-fires that caused so much destruction. Workers are now tackling the delicate and massive task of cleaning up hazardous debris from the wreckage of the homes that were destroyed in the Los Angeles fires earlier this month. Last week, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to speed up the removal of contaminated materials. His administration set a deadline of Feb. 25, 2019. On Thursday, workers in hazmat suits and hard hats, as well as other protective gear, picked through the rubble to find paint cans, batteries, and other items. The buckets were emptied...

Inbound U.S. President Donald Trump's shift group is recommending sweeping changes to cut off assistance for electric cars and charging stations and to reinforce procedures obstructing automobiles, elements and battery materials from China, according to a file seen . The recommendations, which have actually not been formerly reported, come as the U.S. electric-vehicle shift stalls and China's greatly subsidized EV industry continues to rise, in part since of its superior battery supply chain. On the project path, Trump promised to alleviate policies on fossil-fuel cars and trucks and roll back what he called President Joe Biden's EV mandate. The shift...

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear a bid by fuel producers to challenge California's. requirements for car emissions and electrical cars under a. federal air contamination law in a major case checking the. Democraticgoverned state's power to combat greenhouse gases. The justices used up an appeal by a Valero Energy. subsidiary and fuel market groups of a lower court's rejection. of their obstacle to a decision by Democratic President Joe. Biden's administration allow California to set its own. policies. The disagreement fixates an exception approved to California in. 2022 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to nationwide....